Prelude to a Dream

This duet for clarinet and percussion offers listeners a glimpse of a child's dream, with an memorable melody and a variety of musical effects such as changing time signatures, abrupt tonal shifts, and electronic effects.

Genre: Duet for Clarinet & Vibraphone/Bells | # of Players: 2
Level: Medium | Duration: 6:05

Instrumentation
B-flat Clarinet
Vibraphone (3-octave) and Bells

Program Notes
Prelude to a Dream was written as a gift to my recently born nephew, Callen. While trying to think of an appropriate type of piece for a new-born, I realized that a simple lullaby would probably be a wise choice. I then attempted to think about not only what the lullaby itself would be, but what it might sound like when heard in a dream. The resulting piece uses several musical devices to help with that depiction, including electronic effects, changing time signatures, and abrupt tonal shifts.

Performance Notes
• This piece requires the clarinetist to play into a microphone with electronic effects added to the audio output. Guitar stompboxes or computer programs (Ableton Live, Guitar Rig, Max, Reaktor, etc.) may be used to achieve this.

• For balance purposes only stand-alone monitors/amplifiers should be used. A stereo pair of monitors placed right in front of the clarinetist will provide the best results.

• The primary electronic effect to be used with the clarinet is a digital delay set to roughly 70 b.p.m. or 857 milliseconds. Other effects (modulation, chorus, etc.) may be added and turned on at letter D, remaining on for the remainder of the piece.

• The clarinet does not need to be in sync with the vibraphone at letter G the entire time. In fact, the clarinetist should experiment phasing in and out of time to create a more free-flowing feel to the piece’s ending.

• A low-quality bell set should be used at the beginning and played with hard rubber mallets, with the goal of sounding roughly like a celeste.